why do snowblowers have a maximum recommended HP?

[alltherage]

is this because of the shear pin strength? I'm looking at a lucknow 52" tomorrow and the HP recommendation is 12-20 on lucknowproducts.com. Will this really be an issue with a 29hp hydrostatic tractor? Also, the 52" width will make it a couple inches short as the tractor is 57" wide at the rear tire treads. Will this be a major issue as well?

 

[dave1949]

The shear pin should protect the blower from any excess of power if the auger or impeller get jammed. 12-20 hp is more an indicator of the general ruggedness of the unit I think. The gearbox on the blower and chains, for example, are rated to handle up to 20 hp.

I think I would look for a wider blower, something one foot wider (total) than your tractor. You will be living with the blower for many seasons, may as well have what you really need than to just get by. On any turns, it will be much more than just 2-3 inches snow on each side that the wheels will be packing down.

 

[alltherage]

I always thought a 6 foot blower would be too much for a 29hp tractor so I automatically started looking at 5 footers. Should I consider a full 6 footer?

 

[oldnslo]

With HST tranny I would look at something wider than your tires in this case 6 foot. Blowers work best when there is a steady stream of snow so adjusting speed with the HST helps this a lot Vs manual tranny.

 

[herringchoker]

I agree...should be wider than your tires. I run a 74" blower with 30 engine HP (22 PTO HP) and HST with no power issues at all. I do have to be careful not to sideswipe things when going forward because I have narrow tires...my width over the tires is about 48" and my FEL bucket is 54". In my case a 60" blower would probably be a better match because of the narrow track; with your wider track I don't think it would be a serious issue.

 

[The Deerslayer]

You really do want the blower to be a bit wider than your tires. It will especially be noticeable when making turns(sharp or gradual). I have heard of people adding wings to the blower which may eliminate this issue.

 

[doxford jim]

Here is what I did. Not expensive - $50 for the wings cut and bent to shape.

 

[kco]

The shear pin should protect the blower from any excess of power if the auger or impeller get jammed. 12-20 hp is more an indicator of the general ruggedness of the unit I think. The gearbox on the blower and chains, for example, are rated to handle up to 20 hp.

I think I would look for a wider blower, something one foot wider (total) than your tractor. You will be living with the blower for many seasons, may as well have what you really need than to just get by. On any turns, it will be much more than just 2-3 inches snow on each side that the wheels will be packing down.

I have a 75" Meteor pull type on my DK35SE HST (38 gross HP) with around 28 PTO HP. We get frequent heavy, wet snows of 4" to 8". It has no trouble clearing at close to maximum speed in mid range. At times I've cleared very wet, dense old snow up to 18" deep(clearing neighbours' areas that have been left uncleared for a few snows). That requires slowing to a casual walking pace so the tractor can handle it. The HST makes it easy to adjust the forward pace while maintaining full PTO RPM. A gear tractor can do the same by operating in a lower gear.

I was concerned my tractor would not handle the larger blower but my dealer assured me it could. As others noted, it is nice to have the blower wider than the tractor.

I see your tractor is rated at 22.7 HP on the PTO. I get the impression my tractor is not anywhere near the 28 HP capacity for most of my clearing of a normal 6" snow -3 celsius and below (i.e. not real heavy snow).

Looking at the Lucknow specs for pull-types, it appears the 5' and 6' units have the same blowers with four 22" diameter, 8" wide blades. The blower is where most of the power is used. My 75" Meteor's blower has four 23" diameter, 8" wide blades and would use a bit more HP (assuming it is full of snow) than the Lucknow.

I'd be inclined to go with the 6' unit. Hopefully there are others with similar snow conditions and HP as yours who can give an opinion based on actual experience.

 

[kiotiken]

I always thought a 6 foot blower would be too much for a 29hp tractor so I automatically started looking at 5 footers. Should I consider a full 6 footer?

No, look at 5 footers. 52" is only 4' 4" not 5' or 60". I run a 74", 6' 2", on my 45 hp HST and it's a good match but way to much for a 29hp tractor. Blowers are also rated for PTO hp, are you 29 engine HP or 29 PTO HP? If you have 29 engine hp, you're closer to the rating than you think. Either way, you want to at least cover your tracks. I don't think over powering a blower slightly is a big deal but putting a blower rated for 20 hp on a 50 hp tractor means that you'll be able to over stress it by running to much snow through it too quickly. If you try and move too fast with a 20hp tractor, the engine will bog down long before the blower is over stressed, not so with a more powerful tractor. Regardless, covering your tracks is the most important thing so it's rarely an issue.

 

[alltherage]

No, look at 5 footers. 52" is only 4' 4" not 5' or 60". I run a 74", 6' 2", on my 45 hp HST and it's a good match but way to much for a 29hp tractor. Blowers are also rated for PTO hp, are you 29 engine HP or 29 PTO HP? If you have 29 engine hp, you're closer to the rating than you think. Either way, you want to at least cover your tracks. I don't think over powering a blower slightly is a big deal but putting a blower rated for 20 hp on a 50 hp tractor means that you'll be able to over stress it by running to much snow through it too quickly. If you try and move too fast with a 20hp tractor, the engine will bog down long before the blower is over stressed, not so with a more powerful tractor. Regardless, covering your tracks is the most important thing so it's rarely an issue.

I looked up the numbers...our tractor is 28.7 engine HP and 22.7 PTO HP. So it seems like, ,based on the last few posts, that 72" blower may be too much. Maybe the 60" is the best option, or the 52" with wings.